Diagnose and treat BPPV of the anterior canal
Learn how to diagnose BPPV of the anterior canal, and treat it (on either side) using the Yacovino maneuver.
Most online resources tell you how to treat BPPV. Very few show you how to confirm you have the right diagnosis first. In this course, we do both: we display and explain the eye movement patterns that identify anterior canal BPPV specifically, then teach the Yacovino maneuver for treating it on either side. Getting the diagnosis right before starting treatment isn't just good practice — it's the difference between a maneuver that works and one that doesn't.
This material is intended for educational purposes only, and does not substitute evaluation by a qualified medical professional.
In developing this course we reviewed literature (so that you don't have to)!
The treatment maneuver was originally described in this article:
- Yacovino DA, Hain TC, Gualtieri F (2009) New therapeutic maneuver for anterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. J Neurol 256: 1851-5. doi: 10.1007/s00415-009-5208-1
Literature that may be useful for patients:
- Anagnostou E, Kouzi I, Spengos K (2015) Diagnosis and Treatment of Anterior-Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: A Systematic Review. J Clin Neurol 11: 262-7. doi: 10.3988/jcn.2015.11.3.262
- Bastani P, Phillips V, Rieiro H, Otero-Millan J, Zee D, Newman-Toker D, Tehrani A (2025) Feasibility of Using Smartphone Eye-Tracking for Self-recording Positional Tests. Digital Biomarkers: 1-11. doi: 10.1159/000545720
- Melliti A, van de Berg M, van de Berg R (2023) Capturing nystagmus during vertigo attacks using a smartphone: adherence, characteristics, pearls and pitfalls. J Neurol. doi: 10.1007/s00415-023-11965-y
- Phillips V, Bastani PB, Rieiro H, Hale DE, Otero-Millan J, Zee DS, Newman-Toker DE, Tehrani AS (2025) A Pilot Study of Smartphone Eye Tracking for Detection of Positional Nystagmus. Digit Biomark 9: 124-129. doi: 10.1159/000547008
- von Brevern M, Radtke A, Lezius F, Feldmann M, Ziese T, Lempert T, Neuhauser H (2007) Epidemiology of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a population based study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 78: 710-5. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2006.100420
- Yang X, Ling X, Shen B, Hong Y, Li K, Si L, Kim JS (2019) Diagnosis strategy and Yacovino maneuver for anterior canal-benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. J Neurol 266: 1674-1684. doi: 10.1007/s00415-019-09312-1
Literature for specialists who want to dig deeper:
- Califano L, Salafia F, Mazzone S, Melillo MG, Califano M (2014) Anterior canal BPPV and apogeotropic posterior canal BPPV: two rare forms of vertical canalolithiasis. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital 34: 189-97
- Fife TD (2012) Positional dizziness. Continuum (Minneap Minn) 18: 1060-85. doi: 10.1212/01.CON.0000418376.80099.24
- Marques PS, Castillo R, Santos M, Perez-Fernandez N (2014) Repositioning nystagmus: prognostic usefulness? Acta Otolaryngol 134: 491-6. doi: 10.3109/00016489.2013.872291
- Shah MU, Lotterman S, Roberts D, Eisen M (2019) Smartphone telemedical emergency department consults for screening of nonacute dizziness. Laryngoscope 129: 466-469. doi: 10.1002/lary.27424
- Teixido M, Woods O, Kung B, Seyyedi M (2016) A 3D benign paroxysmal positional vertigo model for study of otolith disease. World J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2: 1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.wjorl.2016.02.002
- Traboulsi H, Teixido M (2021) BPPV Viewer: A downloadable 3D BPPV model for study of otolith disease. World Journal of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 7: 34-39. doi: 10.1016/j.wjorl.2018.10.001
